Tag Archives: minimalism

But his story is not one of tragedy. About 6 weeks ago, on the face of Mount Kilimanjaro, Scott Dinsmore died while living his life in the exact sort of way that he inspired thousands of others to live and love their own. He died doing something he loved in pursuit of a lifelong dream. He dared to set huge goals and, in doing so, risked failing quite publicly. But this is just one of the ways in which Scott Dinsmore “walked his talk.”

Among the many powerful legacies he left is a story he shared of an encounter with a friend of Warren Buffett’s personal jet pilot. It has changed the way I think about and pursue my goals, and it is simpler than you might think.

The Two Lists

One day, Buffett approached his long-time pilot, Steve.

“The fact that you’re still working for me, tells me I’m not doing my job,” remarked Buffett, only half joking. “You should be going after more of your goals and dreams.”

Minimalism, as a lifestyle concept, is something I have only recently begun to appreciate. I had heard the term before, but associated it more with an austere artistic style than simple living; like a black, 12-inch cube almost imperceptibly off center in a 10-by-10-foot white square. Art!

And even before I was drawn into the minimalist blogosphere (an attraction that was probably fated by the alignment of my evolving philosophies with the stories and tips offered up by bloggers like Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) and Joshua Becker (Becoming Minimalist)), my wife was ‘minimalizing’ our lives to great effect.